The paper presents the results of simulation of marine diesel engine fuel injector malfunction and its effects on engine vibration. The work includes the analysis of the engine internal forces and their mathematical models. Simplifications are proposed to allow analyzing the system in one degree of freedom. The results of vibration simulations for the model with efficient fuel system and improperly adjusted injector are also presented. The comparison of simulation results with vibration measurements on the engine was also performed, the diagnostic model was identified and simulation errors were calculated. The complexity of other internal and external interactions is the subject of other studies by the authors. The paper analyzes only the effects of energy dissipation - vibration as a symptom of changes in the technical condition.


Background: The Internet addiction refers to the excessive or unreasonable and pathological use of the Internet which leads to the social consequences, including public health.The aim of this study was to determine the relation ship between the Internet addiction and general health in students of Lorestan university of medical sciences in 2013.
Material and Methods: This descriptive analytic study. was carried out on 240 (BSc,MSc and medical) students of Lorestan university of medical sciences randomly selected using Yang Internet addiction and the Goldberg general health questionnaire . Data was analyzed by use of independent statistics and SPSS software v.18.
Results: The results show that there was a significant correlation between the Internet addiction and yeneral health in students of Lorestan university of medical sciences ( r=- 0.471, p>0.001). Based on our findings, 85% of the students were normal but 15% were at risk.
Conclusion: Considering the destructive effects of the Internet addiction on students' health dimensions, control and supervise the Internet use among university students and education about the harmful effects of the Internet it seem necessary.
Keywords: The Internet addiction, General health, Students


The cereal leaf beetle, Oulema melanopus (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is a new invasive pest of cereals in western Canada. Host plant resistance is a potential option in the integrated management of this insect. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes are known to possess antixenosis against O. melanopus; however, mechanisms involving antibiosis are relatively less explored. We present results of an investigation exploring antibiotic resistance in wheat germplasm of Central Asian origin with putative resistance to O. melanopus. Our laboratory assessment of development and survivorship of O. melanopus on test genotypes indicated antibiotic properties in four of the six genotypes evaluated. Antibiosis effects were reflected through lower survivorship, extended developmental periods and low adult fitness. However, two genotypes were excellent hosts, and beetles had higher survivorship and fitness on them. The performance of O. melanopus on these two genotypes was comparable to that on the susceptible genotype CDC GO included as a check. The genotypes with antibiotic resistance identified by this research can now serve as sources of genetic resistance for breeding cultivars adapted to western Canadian conditions.


Graphic novels and other graphic literature available from the UW-Manitowoc Library. This guide shows the scope of materials available. All books are in the "Graphic Novels" collection, next to the "New Books."


While chiral magnets, metal-based magnetic multilayers, or Heusler compounds have been considered as the material workhorses in the field of skyrmionics, oxides are now emerging as promising alternatives, as they host special correlations between the spin–orbital–charge–lattice degrees of freedom and/or coupled ferroic order parameters. These interactions open new possibilities for practically exploiting skyrmionics. In this article, we review the recent advances in the observation and control of topological spin textures in various oxide systems. We start with the discovery of skyrmions and related quasiparticles in bulk and heterostructure ferromagnetic oxides. Next, we emphasize the shortcomings of implementing ferromagnetic textures, which have led to the recent explorations of ferrimagnetic and antiferromagnetic oxide counterparts, with higher Curie temperatures, stray-field immunity, low Gilbert damping, ultrafast magnetic dynamics, and/or absence of skyrmion deflection. Then, we highlight the development of novel pathways to control the stability, motion, and detection of topological textures using electric fields and currents. Finally, we present the outstanding challenges that need to be overcome to achieve all-electrical, nonvolatile, low-power oxide skyrmionic devices. Graphical abstract


We have investigated the structure and electronic structure of single- and double-walled imogolite nanotubes with Ge and Si as group IV element. While it is known from experiment, and in the case of single-walled tubes confirmed by theory, imogolite nanotubes are monodisperse in diameter. We show that imogolite tubes are also showing a preferred chirality (zigzag), resulting from the hydrogen-bond network on the tube surfaces, and that there is an exceptionally stable form of intertube interaction that supports the formation of monodisperse double-walled imogolite nanotubes. The strongest stabilization of double-walled tubes has been found for tube indexes with nine units of difference around the circumference, and the minimum structure is found for the (12,0)@(21,0) tube in the case of germanium imogolite and (9,0)@(18,0) for imogolite. The electronic structure is only slightly affected by these geometric factors, as are the mechanical properties, which show Young moduli of 320–370 GPa, thus being in the...


Three Gram-positive, catalase-negative, motile, rod-shaped bacteria were isolated from fermented stinky tofu brine. These strains, designated YIT 11306(T), YIT 11317 and YIT 11318, were discriminated from five isolates on the basis of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA profiles. They produced l-lactic acid as the main end product from glucose without gas formation, synthesized dextran from sucrose and hydrolysed aesculin. Ammonia was not produced from arginine. Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis demonstrated that the novel isolates were members of the genus Lactobacillus. Based on levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, the three novel strains were related most closely to the type strains of Lactobacillus mali (97.2 %) and Lactobacillus satsumensis (96.8 %). However, levels of DNA-DNA relatedness between the novel isolates and the type strains of L. mali and L. satsumensis were less than 10 %. The phenotypic and genotypic data demonstrate that the three strains represent a single novel species of the genus Lactobacillus, for which the name Lactobacillus capillatus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YIT 11306(T) (=JCM 15044(T)=BCRC 17811(T)=DSM 19910(T)).


Objective: The aim of this study was to assess apical rotation in patients with anterior and inferior myocardial infarction (MI) by speckle-tracking echocardiography. Background: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is the most widely used index of left ventricular (LV) systolic function. However, the development of wall-motion abnormalities after acute MI significantly decreases the accuracy of LVEF; further, calculation of LV volume by the biplane Simpson method is inaccurate, because it depends on geometric assumptions. Recently, two-dimensional speckle-tracking imaging has facilitated noninvasive measurement of LV strain and rotation. Patients and methods: The present study enrolled 54 patients with anterior or inferior MI, in addition to 20 healthy volunteers (matched for age and sex) as the control group. Basal and apical LV short-axis images were acquired for further off-line analysis. Using commercially available two-dimensional strain software, apical, basal rotation, and LV torsion were calculated. Results: Apical rotation was significantly reduced in the patient group compared with the control group (P < 0.001). Consequently, torsion degree (P < 0.001), torsion rate, and untwisting rate (P = 0.007) were significantly reduced. Conclusion: There was a significant correlation between ejection fraction and apex rotation (r = 0.466, P = 0.044), torsion degree (r = 0.499, P = 0.03), and untwisting rate (r = −0.543, P < 0.001). Correlation with basal rotation was nonsignificant, and thus measurement of apical rotation alone (rather than calculation of LV torsion) might provide a simple and accurate alternative for assessment of LV contractility. No difference was found between anterior and inferior MI as regards torsion (P = 0.870). Apical rotation and torsion were decreased in ST-elevation MI, and this was statistically significant in patients with LV dysfunction.


: The purpose of this work was to investigate the survival and intracellular growth of Escherichia coli bacteriophages phi X174, T3 and T4 subjected to freezing down to -196 degrees C. The survival was 98.4% for phage T3, 80.55% for phage phi X174, and 65.13% for phage T4. Single growth cycles, DNA and protein biosynthesis did not change in phages phi X174 and T3 after freezing. If bacteria were infected with phage T4 subjected to freezing, the rates of phage DNA and protein synthesis decreased, the latent period took more time, and phage yield decreased.


Thracian megalithic monuments are confined to parts of east and south-east Bulgaria, north east Greece and Turkish Thrace. They are located on the Istranca, Sakar and Rhodopes Mountains. On the basis of artefacts discovered at the dolmens and tumuli in western and eastern Thrace, Thracian megalithic monuments date to the Early Iron Age, between around the 11th and 8th centuries ВС. Prehistoric monuments laid claim to land through the legitimating of ancestors and their use for communal ceremonies. The megalithic monuments of Turkish Thrace have been known since the 19th century AD. Locating and recording of the dolmens was the main goal of early researchers and so little attention was paid to standing stones complexes and other megalithic monuments in Turkish Thrace. My research was conducted as a regional survey with the aim of examining both the geographical distribution of the full range of megalithic monuments, especially the standing stone complexes, and also intensive surveys were conducted in the Istranca Mountains of the Edime Region. A number of interpretations have been offered by many researchers about megalithic monuments in general, such as symbolic meaning of complexes, patterns of intervisibility, location, astronomy and ritual of complexes. All these ideas were examined with reference to the Turkish Thrace megaliths. All of the standing stone complexes in Turkish Thrace contain multiple stone rows and lie in a รพ-NE direction, aligned on the mid-winter sunset. In particular the standing stone rows in Turkish Thrace may have been intended for sequential processions. A procession can be realised through groups of people moving in an orderly and directional manner. Processions are ceremonial in character, taking place to mark an event or to enact a ritual.


BACKGROUND
Familial dysautonomia is a genetic disease in which there is a defect in the autonomic and sensory nervous systems. These systems have a major role in the reproductive system.

OBJECTIVE
To study the inter-relationship of autonomic and sensory dysfunction and gynecological function.

METHODS
The gynecological histories of 48 women with familial dysautonomia were analyzed retrospectively. Their mean age was 22.25 years (range 12-47). Thirty-three women (65%) were available for further questioning and investigation of hormonal status.

RESULTS
Menarche had occurred in 32 of the 48 (66.7%). Their average age of menarche was significantly delayed as compared to their unaffected mothers (15.5 vs. 13.6 years respectively, P = 0.002). The most prominent finding was the very high prevalence, 81.2%, of premenstrual symptoms. Seven of 26 had premenstrual syndrome symptoms of dysautonomic crisis. Blood sex hormone levels were normal in 27 of the 33 patients studied. None reached natural menopause. One patient had adenomyosis, and another, dysgerminoma. Three patients became pregnant and delivered healthy infants.

CONCLUSION
Menarche is delayed in women with FD, and the physiological monthly hormonal fluctuations may disturb autonomic homeostasis sufficiently to precipitate dysautonomic crisis.


Despite that piezoelectric ceramic lead zirconate titanate (PZT) has been used for structural health monitoring (SHM) in various engineering systems, limited work has been conducted on real size concrete structures. Beam-column connections are critical regions in reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frame structures. The vulnerability of RC beam-column joints has been identified from structural damage investigations over the past decades, especially in the area of earthquake engineering. In the context of a terrorist bomb attack, the beam-column joints are very vulnerable, especially when the perimeter columns lose their load carrying capacity due to damage and the beam-column joints become one of the crucial load transfer mechanism of the structural frame. To avoid catastrophic failures, it is important to monitor beam-column joints under existing gravitational loads. In this paper, an experiment is carried out on four real size concrete frame structures with different detailing subjected to gradually increased loads. A number of PZT sensors are bonded to the frame structure to acquire PZT electro-mechanical (EM) admittance signature. The structural mechanical impedance (SMI) is extracted from the PZT EM admittance signature and its sensitivity is compared with that of the EM admittance. The relations between the damage index and the loading step and tip deflection of the concrete structure are obtained. Finally the sensitivity of the PZT sensors in detection of the critical loading level is discussed. The results show that the PZT sensors are capable of monitoring the integrity and behavior of the real size concrete structures.


One of the major steps the independent India took in protecting the rights and dignity of Dalits was the enactment of special laws. Despite over sixty years of implementation of such laws and many developmental measures, atrocities against Dalits continue unabated. Quoting extensively from the government data on crimes against Dalits, this article logically argues the relevance of 'separate settlement' for Dalits proposed by none other than the architect of Indian Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to end caste based injustice and violence against Dalits.


Decentralized blockchain platforms have enabled the secure exchange of
crypto-assets without the intermediation of trusted authorities. To this
purpose, these platforms rely on a peer-to-peer network of byzantine nodes,
which collaboratively maintain an append-only ledger of transactions, called
blockchain. Transactions represent the actions required by users, e.g. the
transfer of some units of crypto-currency to another user, or the execution of
a smart contract which distributes crypto-assets according to its internal
logic. Part of the nodes of the peer-to-peer network compete to append
transactions to the blockchain. To do so, they group the transactions sent by
users into blocks, and update their view of the blockchain state by executing
these transactions in the chosen order. Once a block of transactions is
appended to the blockchain, the other nodes validate it, re-executing the
transactions in the same order. The serial execution of transactions does not
take advantage of the multi-core architecture of modern processors, so
contributing to limit the throughput. In this paper we develop a theory of
transaction parallelism for blockchains, which is based on static analysis of
transactions and smart contracts. We illustrate how blockchain nodes can use
our theory to parallelize the execution of transactions. Initial experiments on
Ethereum show that our technique can improve the performance of nodes.


When Assani, a young cowherd, left his remote village in the Congo to pursue studies in the city, he learned that he was ethnically Tutsi. Though uninterested in politics or military life, he was soon forced to take sides in the bloody conflict rocking his country in the wake of the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda. Strong, clever, and trusting of no one, he became a fearsome rebel leader. With his expanding cadre of child soldiers he traversed the war-ravaged country, repeatedly dodging death at the hands of competing rebel factions in the bush, angry mobs in the capital city of Kinshasa, and even the rebel-turned-dictator Laurent Kabila himself."The Rebels' Hour" thrusts us into Assani's world, forcing us to navigate the chaos of a lawless country alongside him, compelled by his instinct to survive even in a place where human life has been stripped of value. Though pathologically evasive, Assani - in Lieve Joris' brilliant portrait - stands out as a man who is both monstrous and sympathetic, perpetrator and victim.


We define a D_0 graph to be a graph whose vertex set is a subset of permutations of n, with edges of the form ...bac... ...bca... or ...acb... ...cab... (Knuth transformations), or ...bac... ...acb... or ...bca... ...cab... (rotation transformations), such that whenever the Knuth and rotation transformations at positions i-1, i, i+1 are available at a vertex, exactly one of these is an edge. The generating function of such a graph is the sum of the quasisymmetric functions associated to the descent sets of its vertices. Assaf studied D_0 graphs in the paper *Dual equivalence and Schur positivity* and showed that they provide a rich source of examples of the D graphs defined in the paper *Dual equivalence graphs and a combinatorial proof of LLT and Macdonald positivity*. A key construction of Assaf expresses the coefficient of q^t in an LLT polynomial as the generating function of a certain D_0 graph. LLT polynomials are known to be Schur positive by work of Grojnowski-Haiman, and experimentation shows that many D_0 graphs have Schur positive generating functions, which suggests a vast generalization of LLT positivity in this setting.
As part of a series of papers, we study D_0 graphs using the Fomin-Greene theory of noncommutative Schur functions. We construct a D_0 graph whose generating function is not Schur positive by solving a linear program related to a certain noncommutative Schur function. We go on to construct a D graph on the same vertex set as this D_0 graph.


A representative from Time-Life Television will be present to answer questions about the series, which will span six years and encompass the entire Shakespeare canon. For screenings of the five other plays scheduled for the first season, see meetings 79, 155, 395, 517, 587. For a discussion with the literary consultant for the series, see meeting 231 A. For a Special Session on two plays in the series, see meeting 487.


Background: This study aimed to elucidate the effect of lumbosacral fusion on joint space narrowing of the hip. Methods: We retrospectively studied 511 hips of 261 patients who had undergone lumbar fusion. Whole-spine X-ray was performed for all the patients before surgery and at final follow-up. Center edge angle, joint space of the hip, sagittal vertical axis, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt, and sacral slope were measured. The number of lumbar fusion levels, inclusion of sacral fusion, follow-up duration, and wear of the hip joint (mm/year) were also recorded. Multi regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for joint space narrowing.Results: Female sex (P=0.04), number of fixed lumbar levels (P=0.002), sacral fusions (P=0.039), and follow-up period (P<0.001) were independent risk factors for joint space narrowing of the hip. The patients who underwent four or more levels of lumbar fusion experienced more rapid wearing of the hip joint space than that experienced by patients with less than three levels of lumbar fusion (P=0.044). Conclusion: Surgeons should pay attention to joint space narrowing of the hip after performing multiple lumbar fusions or sacral fusion in women.


TDM Editorial (2018):

"Anish Wadia and Shivani Rawat have demonstrated the permissibility and enforceability of third-party funding in India since 1876 by engaging in an exhaustive analysis of relevant judicial authorities. This is followed by a comprehensive dialogue on all major aspects of third-party funding in international commercial and investment arbitration, including disclosure norms and FEMA. The authors have proposed a viable regulatory framework for India inspired by best practices from other jurisdictions."

The Times of India (Sunday, 24 February 2019):

"Advocates Anish Wadia and Shivani Rawat, in a 201[8] paper, traced permissibility of TPF to an 1876 judgement. Wadia said "amendments to [the] Civil Procedure Code for Maharashtra by the Bombay [High Court] in 1983 acknowledged the permissibility of TPF by including measures for security for costs awarded against the funded claimant. Few other states had followed suit to ensure securing costs from TP funders. TPF holds significant potential and its success would pave way for traditional modes like litigation.""

Authors' Executive Summary:

With increasing cross-border transactions, resort to international commercial and investment arbitrations is on the rise. While these forms of dispute resolution ensure speedier results as opposed to claims languishing in domestic litigation systems for years (and often, for decades in India), the high operational costs of arbitration cannot be denied. In this context, third-party funding in international commercial and investment arbitrations is proving to be a boon for litigants. Dispute financing is allowing parties increased flexibility in pursuing their claims, access to better resources and mitigation of cost risks. The concept does not play favourites - dispute financing equally benefits financially weaker and well-funded parties.

With third-party funding gaining increasing global significance in providing parties access to justice, the time has come for India to formally open its doors to dispute financing in international commercial and investment arbitrations, and eventually even for domestic litigation. Compared to other common law jurisdictions, India is faced with relatively fewer hurdles. Judicial precedent since 1876 has held the common law doctrines of champerty and maintenance as not being applicable to India and the concept of litigation funding has not been held, per se, illegal and hence, enforceable in most situations. This progressive outlook, therefore, provides fertile ground for the development of third-party funding in India.

Through this paper, the authors have sought to initiate a meaningful discourse on third-party funding in India, the benefits for the parties involved, the issues that would need to be tackled, the requirement for a regulated regime, and what India could learn from other common law jurisdictions where the practice of third-party funding is bourgeoning. The paper concludes with the authors' suggestions.


The field of organoid engineering promises to revolutionize medicine with wide-ranging applications of scientific, engineering, and clinical interest, including precision and personalized medicine, gene editing, drug development, disease modelling, cellular therapy, and human development. Organoids are a three-dimensional (3D) miniature representation of a target organ, are initiated with stem/progenitor cells, and are extremely promising tools with which to model organ function. The biological basis for organoids is that they foster stem cell self-renewal, differentiation, and self-organization, recapitulating 3D tissue structure or function better than two-dimensional (2D) systems. In this review, we first discuss the importance of epithelial organs and the general properties of epithelial cells to provide a context and rationale for organoids of the liver, pancreas, and gall bladder. Next, we develop a general framework to understand self-organization, tissue hierarchy, and organoid cultivation. For each of these areas, we provide a historical context, and review a wide range of both biological and mathematical perspectives that enhance understanding of organoids. Next, we review existing techniques and progress in hepatobiliary and pancreatic organoid engineering. To do this, we review organoids from primary tissues, cell lines, and stem cells, and introduce engineering studies when applicable. We discuss non-invasive assessment of organoids, which can reveal the underlying biological mechanisms and enable improved assays for growth, metabolism, and function. Applications of organoids in cell therapy are also discussed. Taken together, we establish a broad scientific foundation for organoids and provide an in-depth review of hepatic, biliary and pancreatic organoids.


The most important agro-ecological problem confronting the steppe regions of Southern Russia is desertification, in large part due to pasture degradation. This publication provides an overview of the status of the various regions in Russia, and studies the connection between desertification and the state and history of agriculture and stockbreeding in each region. It relates the activities of the regional authorities and highlights the necessity of special mechanisms for solving the complex ecological-economic-social problems of the area.


The state-of-art approaches in structural similarities of process models base their operations on behavioral data and text semantics. These data is usually missing from mock-up or obfuscated process models. This fact makes it complicated to apply current approaches on these types of models. We examine the problem of the automated detection of re-occurring structures in a collection of process models, when text semantics or behavioral data are missing. This problem is a case of (sub)graph isomorphism, which is mentioned as NP-complete in the literature. Since the process models are very special types of attributed directed graphs we are able to develop an approach that runs with logarithmic complexity. In this work we set the theoretical basis, develop a configurable approach for the detection of re-occurring structures in any process models collection, and validate it against a set of BPMN 2.0 models. We define two execution scenarios and discuss the relation of the execution times with the complexity of the comparisons. Finally, we analyze the detected structures, and propose the configurations that lead to optimal results.


Sills of olivine-microgabbro and olivine-dolerite 0.5–180 m thick intrude Lower Liassic (Hettangian–Sinemurian) sediments in the Fastnet Basin, a SW extension of the N Celtic Sea Basin, about Lat. 50°N, Long. 10°W. The evidence of 3 wells and 2300 km of seismic reflection profiles indicates 6 major sills and sill-complexes, and 3 possible igneous centres or plugs. A high-level sill may intrude Lower Cretaceous sediments, and one plug apparently deforms Cretaceous reflectors. K-Ar ages on separated biotites from a thick sill intruding Liassic sediments gave 170 ± 4 Ma (Bajocian). This sill contains 30% olivine (FO70-73), 20% clinopyroxene (magnesian salite), 45% plagioclase (An60-78), &, with accessory magnetite, ilmenite, edenitic hornblende, Ti-phlogopite, apatite, zircon, spinel (in olivine) and sulphides. Alteration to serpentine minerals, chlorite, sericitic mica and leucoxene is sporadic. The magmatism in the Fastnet province thus appears to have been active from the mid-Jurassic to the early Tertiary, related initially to the time of initial rifting between the European and American plates, and subsequently to their final separation between Greenland and Rockall and associated Thulean magmatism.


This study, a combination of quantitative and artifact analysis, examined how New England public college and university faculty perceived their professional concerns were affected by working under a collective bargaining agreement. The professional concerns, derived from the pertinent literature, included the following: the ability of the faculty to effectively influence who joined the faculty ranks; their powers to determine the curriculum, with their related instructional practices/delivery systems, and the setting of degree requirements; determining their teaching, scholarship, and service requirements; assuring the exercise of academic freedom, and reasonable shared governance. Coupled with these professional concerns were three research questions that also were the study's focus: (1) Does collective bargaining facilitate or inhibit faculty professional autonomy? (2) Is it important to their sense of professionalism? (3) Do collective bargaining agreements support professional autonomy? For the survey phase, 650 faculty, drawn from thirteen four-year public institutions within New England, were surveyed to ascertain their perceptions on how their contracts affected their professional concerns. For the artifact phase, the collective bargaining contracts of the thirteen institutions were examined to see if the contracts' language might impinge on the professional concerns of the faculty. The 141 total surveys received after an initial and a follow-up mailing, were analyzed using factor analysis and ANOVAs. The results showed that the respondents perceived that their professional concerns were adequately addressed by their collective bargaining agreements. Also faculty felt that their shared governance role was more secure. There were differences among the survey responses based on union membership with regard to the agreements working as a balance on administrative powers, with significant differences found between those not in a union, and members of AAUP, AFT, and NEA. However, what faculty sought in their contracts to ensure a faculty role in shared governance was in fact very limited in the actual contracts' language. Information gained from this study may inform the collective bargaining process for both sides of the table and lend an understanding of the impact of these agreements upon their respective institutions.


Throughout history the world has been faced by high debts, with the recent global financial crisis intensifying the issue of increasing indebtedness (with respect to both public and external debts), especially in the light of sovereign debt crisis that some countries have been subject to recently. This paper explores the debt levels in Central, East and Southeast Europe and investigates their relation with growth. We use annual data on debts and growth from the WIIW database (The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies) and World Development Indicators (World Bank) on 18 countries. By employing econometric analysis in the form of dynamic panel data analysis our investigation contributes to the literature by covering the recently very hot issue of the dangers of high indebtedness in the region of Central, East and Southeast Europe. Our findings send a strong warning about the need to keep the debts under control.


Not driven by high-stakes tests: Exploring science assessment and college readiness of students from an urban portfolio community high school Robin Earle Fleshman This case study seeks to explore three research questions: (1) What science teaching and learning processes, perspectives, and cultures exist within the science classroom of an urban portfolio community high school? (2) In what ways does the portfolio-based approach prepare high school students of color for college level science coursework, laboratory work, and assessment? (3) Are portfolio community high school students of color college ready? Is there a relationship between students' science and mathematics performance and college readiness? The overarching objectives of the study are to learn, understand, and describe an urban portfolio community high school as it relates to science assessment and college readiness; to understand how the administration, teachers, and alumni perceive the use of portfolios in science learning and assessment; and to understand how alumni view their preparation and readiness for college and college science coursework, laboratory work, and assessments. The theoretical framework of this study encompasses four theories: critical theory, contextual assessment, self-regulated learning, and ethic of care. Because the urban high school studied partnered with a community-based organization (CBO), it identifies as a community school. Therefore, I provide context regarding the concept, culture, and services of community schools. Case study is the research design I used to explore in-depth this urban portfolio community high school, which involved mixed methods for data collection and analysis. In total, six alumni/current college students, five school members (administrators and teachers), and three CBO members (administrators, including myself) participated in the study. In addition to school artefacts and student portfolios collected, classroom and portfolio panel presentation observations and 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the portfolio-based approach as it pertains to science learning and assessment and college science readiness. Data from the transcripts of two graduating classes were analyzed and the interview transcripts were coded and analyzed as well. Analysis of qualitative data revealed key findings: (1) the school's Habits of Mind, authentic scientific inquiry, self-regulated learning triggers and strategies, and teacher feedback practices driven by an ethic of care supported students' science learning and portfolio assessment; and (2) the cyclical and extensive portfolio processes of writing, revision, and submission well prepared alumni for college science laboratory work and coursework, to a certain extent, but not for the traditional assessments administered in college science courses. Analysis of quantitative data revealed that, if based solely on the City University of New York's Regents score criteria for college readiness, the majority of students from these two graduating classes studied would not have been considered college ready even though all participants, including interviewed alumni, believed the school prepared them for college. The majority of these students, however, were transitioning to college readiness based on their Regents-level science and mathematics coursework. Findings of this study have implications for science assessment, professional development in science, education policy reform, and high school partnerships with CBOs and postsecondary institutions as they pertain to college and college science readiness for students of color in urban portfolio community high schools.


In recent years, the emergence of global value chains in how firms organize their production strategies has drawn the attention of economists, particularly those in the field of international trade. This has spawned a growing body of applied theoretical work to capture the fragmentation of production and sourcing decisions across country borders. This chapter overviews this literature on economic models that speak to the broad phenomenon of global production. It elucidates the core modeling approaches that have been developed to understand the drivers behind these decisions, as well as their consequences for trade flows, labor markets, and aggregate welfare. The chapter also highlights how this modeling work complements key themes that have been developed in the broader social science literature on global value chains.


Maturity Onset Diabetes of Young (MODY) is a heterogeneous group of monogenic disorders that result in β-cell dysfunction, with an estimated prevalence of 1%-2% in industrialized countries. MODY generally occurs in non-obese patients with negative autoantibodies presenting with mild to moderate hyperglycemia. The clinical features of the patients are heterogeneous, depending on the different genetic subtypes. We pretend to report a case of MODY type 2 caused by a novel de novo CGK mutation, highlighting the importance of the differential diagnosis in pediatric diabetes. A 13-year-old, healthy and non-obese girl was admitted for investigation of recurrent hyperglycemia episodes. She presented with persistent high levels of fasting blood glycemia (> 11.1 mmol/L) and had no familial history of diabetes. The blood glucose profile revealed an impaired fasting glucose of 124 mg/dL (6,9 mmol/L) with a normal oral glucose tolerance test. Fasting insulinemia was 15 mg/dL (90.1 pmol/L), HOMA-IR was 3.9 and hemoglobin A1c was 7.1%. Pancreatic autoantibodies were negative. Genetic testing identified a novel missense heterozygous mutation in exon 5 of GCK gene c.509G > T (p.Gly170Val), not present on the parents. This result established the diagnosis of MODY type 2. Clinical identification of patients with MODY remains a diagnostic challenge, especially when familial history is absent. Molecular diagnosis is very important for establishing an individualized treatment and providing a long term prognosis for each type of MODY.


Dynamic model-updating methods are a useful tool for obtaining high-precision finite element (FE) models. However, when using such methods to update a model, there will be problems with incompleteness and mode switching. To overcome these problems, this paper proposes a structural dynamic model-updating with an automatic mode-identification method. In this method, a mode-identification index is established based on image-similarity recognition to identify the consistency between FE and experimental mode shapes, and particle swarm optimization is introduced to update the model. In addition, to reduce the computational time, Latin hypercube sampling is employed to perform probability statistics of the switching range of the concerned mode orders, and the orders of mode identification are reduced according to the statistics results. In this paper, the proposed method was validated by model-updating of a square plate. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of the plate were obtained by experimental modal analysis and used as the updating objectives of the FE model. In addition, the boundary condition of the plate was simplified by a series of springs, which were used as updating parameters along with material properties and dimensions. Finally, the FE model of the plate was updated by the present method, and the results indicate that the objective function error of the updated FE model was successfully reduced from 14.31% to 1.05%, which proves that the proposed model-updating method is effective and feasible.


As health care services shift to the ambulatory and community setting, health professions educators must consider revamping educational programs to reflect the new venues of care. This transformation extends far beyond the location of services. The dynamic between the health care provider and the patient shifts to provider and customer. Services should be geared to the concerns of the individual and tailored to meet the realities of the person's life. This is true in all settings; and particularly true in the city. This article discusses the unique challenges of the urban environment and the benefits students gain by having clinical experiences based the city and working with members of these communities.


A Pharmaceutical company has to buy a range of different components and raw materials for production from various upstream vendors. Choosing the right vendor among the existing vendors, monitoring their performance is a major challenge for Pharmaceuticals. The vendor development is an important strategic process carried out in every pharmaceutical industry in accordance with current and justifiable rules and regulations, inefficiency of which affects the quality and safety of pharmaceutical products. Even after considering it as an important process many pharmaceuticals fail to follow, due to inadequate time, price, and logistics issues. Quality Assurance and Quality Control department helps to ensure that the material supplied by the vendors meets the required specification requirements. Thus, a Quality department and supply chain considered to be right departments to choose the right vendor for the Quality of raw material for the production of a pharmaceutical product. Furthermore, the FDA (Food and drug administration) has issued several guidelines on current good manufacturing practices to assure that processes for the packaging material, raw material, labeling and storage of additives are documented and meet specification requirements to assure material purity, potency, and quality. We place the contribution in a conceptual framework that takes into consideration the diversity of supply chain situations in terms of complexity and significance; it covers up all phases of the vendor development process, from the basic definition of problems to the qualification of the potential vendor to the final selection of vendors. And also the final suitable decision methods reported in this literature to support the selection process for the vendors.


The currently observed climate change due to global warming is expected to have a strong impact especially on the Arctic permafrost environments. The thawing of permafrost is suggested to be associated with a massive release of greenhouse gases, in particular methane. For the understanding how the system will respond to climate changes it is not only important to investigate the current status of carbon turnover but also how the system reacted to climate changes in the past. Therefore quantitative and qualitative analyses of the variations in composition of bacterial and archaeal communities involved in the Siberian methane cycle in holocene and late pleistocene were conducted, using samples of a permafrost core drilled in central Lena-Delta, Siberia, in 2002. Our studies on the reconstruction of the methane cycle in deposits of the permafrost affected soils combined methods of biogeochemistry and molecular geomicrobiology. It was possible to recover lipid biomarker and intact DNA continuously throughout the core. Biomarkers like glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) were analyzed whereas highest amounts of ether lipids were found in the upper layer and at the bottom of the core. Generally, the results of GDGTs analyzes fit to measured rates of total organic carbon (TOC) and in-situ methane concentration of the deposits. Furthermore these biomarkers were analyzed and distinguished in biomarkers representing signals of paleo-archaeal and paleo-bacterial communities. To complete information on the qualitative composition of microbial communities DNA analyses were driven using archaeal and methanotrophic specific primer combinations, whereas amplicons were subsequently analyzed by DGGE and clone libraries. Fingerprints of archaeal 16 S rRNA gene sequences of the different soil samples show variations within the vertical profile.


Oxyeleotris colasi is the first hypogean fish recorded from West Papua. The habitat consists of a freshwater pool in the cave of Jabuenggara located in the heart of Seraran anticline in the limestone karst of Lengguru. The new species is most closely related to the blind cave fish O. caeca described by Allen (1996) from eastern New Guinea. The two troglomorphic species are hypothesised to be related to O. fimbriata, an epigean freshwater gudgeon that ranges widely in New Guinea and northern Australia (Allen, 1996). Oxyeleotris colasi differs from its congeners by the absence of eyes, its skin and fins being totally depigmented, the presence of a well developed sensory papillae system partly consisting of low raised fleshy ridges on each side of the head, a reduced number of cephalic sensory pores, a reduced number of scales on head and body, a long head with a short snout length, a narrow mouth width and a long upper jaw length, body shape with a shallow anterior body depth and narrow body width, a long and deep caudal peduncle, long predorsal and prepectoral lengths, and a long pectoral fin. Cybium, Vol. 36, No. 4. Hal. 521-529


Human-Computer Integration is an extension of the HumanComputer Interaction paradigm that explores systems in which the boundary between user and computer is blurred. We build on this and explore its intersection with the felds of biodata and playful expression by presenting "Wigglears", a wearable system that will wiggle the wearer's ears based on skin conductance, aiming to explore playful solutions towards integrated biodata-based selfexpression. Through an autobiographical study, we demonstrate the system's ability to fuel social dialogue, amplify positive emotions, and triggering refocus. We intend for our system to be a novel solution to expressing emotions within social interactions, and hope to ofer insights towards the social implications of biodatabased integration as a social cue, to help further the research within Human-Computer Integration.


In the case of large diameter polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) pipes the most usual joint is the butt weld. This paper focuses on the influence of a weld bead on the service life of welded pipes from a fracture mechanics perspective. To this aim the stress concentrator created by the connection between the weld bead and the pipe's free surface is modelled as a notch. Global parameters defining properties of stress and strain field in the notch region are calculated for materials with a prevailing Norton-type creep. It is demonstrated that in the case of creep loading conditions and ductile failure mode the existence of such stress concentrators has no negative influence on the lifetime of pipes.


Refactoring is the process of improving the design of existing code by changing its internal structure without affecting its external behavior, with the main aims of improving the quality of software product. Therefore, there is a belief that refactoring improves quality factors such as understandability, flexibility, and reusability. However, there is limited empirical evidence to support such assumptions. The objective of this study is to validate/invalidate the claims that refactoring improves software quality. The impact of selected refactoring techniques was assessed using both external and internal measures. Ten refactoring techniques were evaluated through experiments to assess external measures: Resource Utilization, Time Behaviour, Changeability and Analyzability which are ISO external quality factors and five internal measures: Maintainability Index, Cyclomatic Complexity, Depth of Inheritance, Class Coupling and Lines of Code. The result of external measures did not show any improvements in code quality after the refactoring treatment. However, from internal measures, maintainability index indicated an improvement in code quality of refactored code than non-refactored code and other internal measures did not indicate any positive effect on refactored code.


Antithamnion sparsum Tokida isolated from the southern and western coasts of Korea showed a basically Polysiphonia-type life history. However, it sometimes exhibited a monoecious reproduction and the carpospores released from the cystocarp by selffertilization unexpectedly developed into plants bearing spermatangia alone. These male plants were not functional up to 60 days in culture. The results of intraspeciflc crosses between populations of A. sparsum were successful and the hybrid carpospores gave rise to normal tetrasporophytes. On the other hand, the interspecific crosses between A sparsum and A defectum were only partly successful, as evidenced by gonimoblast development and the release of carpospores in case of A. sparsum (male) × A defectum (female),but not in A. sparsum (female)×A. defectum (male). These results seem to suggest that both species are still undergoing speciation.


The report examines the regulatory framework, the organizational arrangements, the administrative powers, and the instruments of individual protection of European security. For each subject, the European security regulation is described and compared with other European sectors and with national security policies.The regulation of European security is somehow contradictory. It is a quantitatively significant regulation, but its full effectiveness is jeopardized by the relatively low degree of its normative implementation at the domestic level. The EU security administration is characterized by a peculiar combination of transnationalism and supranationalism, which responds to the rationale of strengthened transnational co-operation under light EU co-ordination. The relevant administrative powers are distributed among the various competent bodies on a case-by-case basis, although final administrative powers are usually granted to national public powers. Individual protection mainly relies upon the instruments envisaged by domestic law. The reconstructed EU security regulation has both similarities and differences with other EU sector regulations and with national security policies.The move towards closer integration in the field by means of enhanced coordination and exploitation of national resources certainly matches the objectives of political realism and pragmatism. But a number of issues still need to be adequately addressed.


This study aimed to establish a comparison for theoretical water demand between rice plants grown under flooding and under different levels of water stress, imposed at distinct crop stages, in terms of plant morpho-physiology and phenology. The experiment was installed in a greenhouse, using complete randomized design and factorial scheme 3 × 4 + 1, with four replications. Factor "A" was defined as the growth stage when water stress was imposed on the treatments, these stages being (1) vegetative, (2) reproductive 1, and (3) reproductive 2; factor "B" was composed of four levels of water stress (0 to 200 kPa). The additional treatment consisted of a flooded check. Water was replenished back to saturation every time the threshold stress level was reached. There is damage to rice growth and development in water tensions greater than 30 kPa when applied between tillering start and anthesis. Main damage was observed as reduced rates of culm growth; leaf area tended to be maintained. Water luxury consumption by rice plants grown under flooding seems to be about 23% of the total demand, compared to the other irrigated treatments. The rice field should be irrigated back to saturation when soil water tension is between 10 kPa and 30 kPa. Overall, theoretical crop coefficient (Kc) for rice under sprinkler irrigation is about 20% lower than that observed for the flooded check.

 Key words: Water consumption, planting system, Oryza sativa.


The education of American Indians and Alaska Natives has increasingly become more complex given the differences in tribal languages and cultures, especially as changing demographics and issues of Indian identity are considered. There are over 200 languages and vast cultural differences between and within the 565 federally recognized tribes in Indian Country. Adding to the complexity are the various types of schools, colleges, and universities that are educating Native students. Many educational institutions are identifying tribal values as a way to provide an overall framework or as "guiding principles" to teaching, learning, research, and governance. This analysis will examine the literature on the use of tribal values, focus on a qualitative study of Comanche attributes, and discuss the implications for research and practice in education and American Indian Studies.


Phenolic-rich bio-oil can be selectively produced from catalytic fast pyrolysis of biomass impregnated with K3PO4, K2HPO4, or KH2PO4. In this study, the catalytic effects of the three catalysts on the pyrolytic product distribution were investigated and compared via analytical pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) experiments. The results indicated that the three catalysts were all able to inhibit the pyrolytic decomposition of holocellulose to form volatile organic products, while promoting the formation of phenolic compounds from lignin. Hence, phenolic-rich bio-oil could be selectively produced. Among the three catalysts, K3PO4 and K2HPO4 possessed similar capability to increase the yield of the phenolics, which was better than KH2PO4. The phenolic contents among the total pyrolytic products steadily increased as the K3PO4 or K2HPO4 dosage increased. The maximal peak area of the phenolics reached as high as 68.8% (at 50 wt.% K3PO4) or 50.6% (at 50 wt.% K2HPO4) of the total peak area. Therefore, based on these results, K3PO4 was the best catalyst for the selective production of phenolic-rich bio-oil.


This paper presents a novel efficient technique for the study of planar dielectric waveguides for submillimeter-wave and optical applications. In an appropriate integral transform domain, which is determined by the Green's function of the substrate structure, higher-order boundary conditions are enforced in conjunction with Taylor expansions of the fields to derive an equivalent one-dimensional integral equation for the corresponding two-dimensional waveguide geometry. This reduction in the dimensionality of the boundary-value problem can easily be extended to three-dimensional planar structures, with equivalent two-dimensional integral equations being formulated. The reduced integral equations are solved numerically by invoking the method of moments, in which the transform-domain unknowns are expanded in a smooth localized entire-domain basis. It is demonstrated that using orthogonal Hermite-Gauss functions as an expansion basis provides very satisfactory results with only a few expansion terms. For the validation of the technique, single and coupled dielectric slab waveguides are treated. >


Background: Femur shaft fractures are the most common long bone fractures encountered in orthopedic practice. Open fractures of the femur shaft are due to high-energy trauma; these patients are usually associated with other system injuries and vascular involvement. The initial management of open fractures includes antibiotics, debridement, and stabilization. If the initial debridement is believed to be adequate, definitive fixation of the femoral shaft can be performed usually with reamed intramedullary nailing. The present study was conducted to evaluate the functional outcome in open Type 1 and 2 femur shaft fractures managed with primary intramedullary nailing and the complications related to it. Materials and Methods: Twenty-two patients, having Grade 1 and 2 compound femur shaft fractures were admitted and included in the study from January 2016 to February 2019 after obtaining valid consent. All the patients were investigated with X-rays, and fractures were classified according to Gustilo–Anderson classification. All the patients were treated primarily with intramedullary nailing, and the functional outcome was assessed by using Harris Hip Score and Oxford Knee Score. Results: Thirteen (59.09%) patients had Type 1 open femur shaft fractures and nine (40.90%) patients had Type 2 fractures. Fracture union was observed in six patients (27.27%) at 3 months and in 16 (72.72%) at 3–6 months. Complications observed were superficial wound infections in two patients, deep infections in two patients, and nonunion in one patient. Thirteen (59.09%) patients got excellent outcome, four (18.18%) patients got good outcome, three (13.63%) patients got fair outcome, and two (09.09%) patients got poor outcome. Conclusion: Primary intramedullary nailing is an effective method of managing Type 1 and 2 open femur shaft fractures if thorough early and timely debridement can be done. It is associated with less complications, helps in early mobilisation and also avoids secondary procedures.


In inspections for the Learning and Skills Sector (LSS) carried out by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (OFSTED) there is a strong emphasis on the quality of trainees' practical teaching as evidence of the effectiveness of initial teacher education provision.
In the current inspection round, OfSTED uses criteria for key aspects of trainees' performance in lessons, based on four grades: outstanding, good, satisfactory and inadequate. For HEI partnerships offering the Certificate in Education/PGCE in Post Compulsory Education and Training, this is the first time the overall grading of trainees has become a formal part of inspection. A major issue for providers to address is how to ensure consistency of judgements across the partnership, including what constitutes 'outstanding' teaching in the formal learning environment.
This workshop is based on the findings of a research study funded by the Huddersfield PCET Consortium and HUDCETT. This study considers the factors that tutors take into account during observed teaching when deciding if a trainee teacher is 'outstanding'.


The key to saving police dogs that have been exposed to large quantities of illicit substances is rapid action. Removal from the gastrointestinal tract, adsorption, and catharsis are the first steps. Some of these measures can be instituted on site by the attending officer. In case of accidental drug exposures of a dog during a search, police officers should have on hand apomorphine, syringes for administration of the drug and rinsing of the conjunctival sac, activated charcoal, a saline cathartic such as sodium sulfate (not needed if the activated charcoal product contains sorbitol), a resuscitator bag, and a well-fitting canine face mask. If bags of drugs are ingested intact, immediate surgery by a veterinarian may be required to remove the bag and prevent an obstruction or rapid absorption of a lethal dose. Injectible medications to antagonize the effects of the drugs should be reserved for administration by a readily available veterinarian upon arrival of the dog at the veterinary hospital. Pharmacologic antagonistic agents may have adverse side effects, especially if used in the treatment of a drug exposure against which they are not specifically indicated. Proper dosage and route of administration are additional important factors with such treatment. The veterinarian must instruct the police officers on the proper use, dosages, and methods of administration of the detoxifying agents as well as the proper procedures for using the face mask and resuscitator bag before an emergency arises. The officer should also be aware of the clinical signs likely to be produced following exposure to the agents for which these dogs search.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In recent years, the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been on the rise, extending to countries where it was infrequent in the past. As a result, the gap between high and low incidence countries is decreasing. The disease, therefore, has an important economic impact on the healthcare system. Advances in recent years in pharmacogenetics and clinical pharmacology have allowed for the development of treatment strategies adjusted to the patient profile. Concurrently, new drugs aimed at inflammatory targets have been developed that may expand future treatment options. This review examines advances in the optimization of existing drug treatments and the development of novel treatment options for IBD.


We previously reported that the Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis produces a superantigen (YPM, Y. pseudotuberculosis-derived mitogen) that expands T cells bearing V betas 3, 9, 13.1, and 13.2 in an MHC class II-dependent manner. Based on the previously determined N-terminal 23 amino acids of YPM (T-D-Y-D-N-T-L-N-S-I-P-S-L-R-I-P-N-I-A-T-Y-T-G- (one-letter code)), we cloned the ypm gene and analyzed the nucleotide sequence. The gene encodes a 151-amino acid protein with a 20-amino acid signal peptide at its N terminus. The recombinant YPM expressed by the cloned gene exerted a mitogenic activity on human PBMC at a concentration of approximately 1 pg/ml. T cells bearing V beta 13.3 were preferentially expanded as well as T cells bearing the same V beta repertoires stimulated by native YPM. T cells were stimulated by the recombinant YPM in the presence of either fixed or unfixed HLA class II-transfected mouse fibroblasts. Furthermore, sequence diversity in the junctional region of the TCR beta-chain containing the V beta 3 element could be observed after stimulation by the recombinant YPM. These results indicate that YPM belongs to the category of superantigens and should be included as a novel member. The amino acid sequence of the mature protein showed no significant homology to other superantigens derived from Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes. This observation, together with the substantially smaller m.w. suggest that ypm must have evolved from a different ancestral gene.


Connecting biologically inspired neural simulations to physical or simulated embodiments can be useful both in robotics, for the development of a new kind of bio-inspired controllers, and in neuroscience, to test detailed brain models in complete action-perception loops. The aim of this work is to develop a fully spike-based, biologically inspired mechanism for the translation of proprioceptive feedback. The translation is achieved by implementing a computational model of neural activity of type Ia and type II afferent fibers of muscle spindles, the primary source of proprioceptive information, which, in mammals is regulated through fusimotor activation and provides necessary adjustments during voluntary muscle contractions. As such, both static and dynamic γ-motoneurons activities are taken into account in the proposed model. Information from the actual proprioceptive sensors (i.e., motor encoders) is then used to simulate the spindle contraction and relaxation, and therefore drive the neural activity. To assess the feasibility of this approach, the model is implemented on the NEST spiking neural network simulator and on the SpiNNaker neuromorphic hardware platform and tested on simulated and physical robotic platforms. The results demonstrate that the model can be used in both simulated and real-time robotic applications to translate encoder values into a biologically plausible neural activity. Thus, this model provides a completely spike-based building block, suitable for neuromorphic platforms, that will enable the development of sensory-motor closed loops which could include neural simulations of areas of the central nervous system or of low-level reflexes.


In January, 2019, a group of 18 Tech students and two leaders (Dr. Pat Bagley and Mrs. Amy Miller) spent 11 days in Puebla, Mexico as a University sponsored study-abroad program. Students were exposed to various aspects of ordinary life of Mexicans in this upscale city about 60 miles southeast of Mexico City with a population of 3 million people. At the mid-point of the trip, students were addressed by a local businessman who was educated in the US and fluent in English, but runs an electrical supply business and exports to the US. Following the presentation and open questions period, with the total presentation about 1 ½ hours, a questionnaire was administered regarding aspects of Mexican life and relationships to the US. There were four questions with open responses, and six questions asked using a 5-point Likert scale. Selected questions and responses were: 1. Wealth – 100% response as "poorer;" 2. Work ethic: 3/same= 22%, 4/harder = 28%, 5/much harder working = 50%. On the two questions related to whose fault is the illegal drug trade and illegal immigration, respondents were almost exactly split regarding which country is more at fault over this situation. In qualitative responses to questions, respondents cited the fault of the US in the drug trade as the demand for illegal drugs being a root cause of the problem, and also responded they better understood these problems and how Mexicans could be angry with US citizens in causing some of these problems to occur.


Abstract. About 250 years ago L. Euler has derived a system of three quadratic-nonlinear differential equations to depict the rotation of the Earth as a rigid body. Neglecting a small distinction between the equatorial inertia moments, he reduced this system to much simpler linear one, and concluded that the Earth's pole must experience a harmonic oscillation of the 304-day period. Astronomers could not find this oscillation, but instead, S.C Chandler has found two powerful wobbles with the 12- and ~ 14-month periods in reality. Adhering to the Euler's linearization, astronomers can not explain the nature of the later wobble up to now. I indicate that the neglect by the above small distinction ("a small parameter" of the Euler's primary nonlinear equations) is not admissible because the effect of this parameter is singular. Analysing the primary equations by an asymptotic technique, I demonstrate that the Chandler wobble tones are formed from combinational harmonics of the Euler's 304-day oscillation, long-term Luni-Solar tides as well as the 22-year cycle of the heliomagnetic activity. Correlating simultaneous variations of the wobble and a solar activity index, I corroborate that the Chandler wobble is really affected by the Sun.


Teacher education is the environment for the learning and instruction of prospective teachers. Its structure, components, and contents shape the development of relevant competences which enable prospective teachers to be effective in the classroom. But its relevance is questioned because respective research, characterised by inconclusive results, does not offer explanations about the reasons why certain teacher education programmes are more effective than others in the development of relevant competences. One reason for the lack of explanations can be found in the way research assesses the effectiveness of teacher education. This might be due to problems regarding the conceptualisations of teacher education, as well as to the inherent selection and nonrandom allocation problems in research on the relation between teacher education and student achievement. In this paper we respond to claims for an organisational perspective on teacher education and develop such a new perspective. Accordingly, we provide these claims with an adequate theoretical foundation and develop an organisational model of teacher education based on Open Systems Theory. Besides being one of the first integrative organisational models of teacher education, it is among the first models which illustrate the relations and interdependencies of systems, its different parts, and its different levels, and enables researchers to investigate these interdependencies. The development of this model is further based on an alteration of the input variables of the concept of teacher quality. Moreover, the model has consequences for the notion of teacher education effectiveness. We illustrate these changes, and discuss them and the model with respect to possible areas of further research.


: Prostaglandins (PGs) are derived from dietary essential fatty acids (EFAs) by relatively short biochemical pathways. PG synthesis can be manipulated by modifying EFA intake. PGs and related compounds of the 1 and 3 series have desirable or neutral actions while those of the 2 series are mixed, some being desirable but others being highly undesirable. Methods for selectively increasing 1 and 3 series products while simultaneously reducing the formation of arachidonic acid derivatives are described.


Background In renal failure, alteration in the pharmacokinetics increases the frequency of overdoses. Purpose To evaluate pharmaceutical care using a computer programme for drug dose adjustment in renal failure. Materials and Methods The study period lasted from September 2011 to January 2012 (inclusive), in a 420-bed hospital. Every day creatinine values over 130 mmol/l were filtered. Treatment was reviewed and we obtained creatinine clearance values (Crockcoft & Gault) of selected patients. After consulting the drug dose adjustment on the sheet and in Micromedex, a report was sent with the pharmaceutical recommendation. Results There were 68 interventions for the 2147 patients studied: Internal Medicine (34) Cardiology (1), Short Stay Unit (5), Orthopaedics (7), Urology (5), Haematology (7) Surgery (5), Neurology (1), Intensive Care Unit (ICU) (2) Oncology (1). 55.9% of notifications were for changes in the dose of enoxaparin (38), 11.8% of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (8), piperacillin-tazobactam 14.7% (10), 8.8% levofloxacin (6), 2.9% meropenem (2), 2.9% ciprofloxacin (2), 1.5% imipenem (1) and 1.5% aztreonam (1). The proportion of suggested changes accepted was 58.8% (40). 5.9% (4) discontinued treatment, 5.9% (4) were discharged and 29.4% (20) not changed. Of the latter, five were for changes in the pattern of enoxaparin in trauma patients, another 5 from Internal Medicine and 2 more from Haematology and ICU. The rest of them were changes in the pattern of antibiotics (imipenem 1, 2 levofloxacin, 1 meropenem, 1 ciprofloxacin, piperacillin-tazobactam 3) that were given out in the different services. Conclusions A high percentage of doctors followed the recommendations. Part of the unaccepted tally corresponds to trauma patients whose prophylactic regimen of enoxaparin (40 mg/24 h) was not modified due to the service criteria. Some of the antibiotic prescriptions were not changed because of the severity of the patient's illness (1 levofloxacin and 1 Internal Medicine Meropenem Imipenem Oncology and 1). The rest were rejected without explanation. No conflict of interest.


Background: In Ethiopia where there are limited diagnostic facilities and no strong surveillancesystem, the actual burden and treatment outcome of Tuberculosis lymphadenitis (TBL) is not well known. According to World Health Organization (WHO) treatment outcome is an important indicator of tuberculosis control strategy. Therefore, we conducted this study to describe the proportion and treatment outcome of TBL cases and identified risk factors associated with treatment outcome during treatment in
Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, northwest Ethiopia. Methods: We analyzed the records of 425 TBL patients registered at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital from 2010 to 2012. Information was collected on the number of cases and the treatment outcome of patients was categorized according to the national tuberculosis control program guideline: cured, treatment completed, died, defaulted, failed and transferred out. Pearson's Chi-square test and Fisher exact tests were used to analyze the association between treatment outcome and potential predictor variables; p < 0.05 was considered to be significant.
Results: 425 TBL patients were registered, 55 (12.9%) of whom were children. Of the total of TBL
patients, 101 (23.5%) were HIV seropositive. A successful treatment outcome was achieved in 101
(24%) of the patients; the total death rate was 22 (5.2%). Two hundred eighty-nine (68%) patients were
transferred to other clinics in the region and 13 (3.1%) were lost to follow-up (defaulted). There were
no apparent treatment failures in the cohort. Significant predictors of TBL treatment outcome were: age
above the mean (RR=1.65, 95%CI 1.168-2.317, P =0.005) and rural residence (RR=8.65, 95%CI 3.604-
20.755, P =0.000). Conclusion: In the studied region, a rather high prevalence of TBL was documented. Unfortunately, successful TBL treatment outcomes (24%) in the Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital DOTS center were below the 85% threshold suggested by the World Health Organization. As this is a serious public health concern, it should be addressed urgently.


There is currently an increasing demand for cryptoasset analysis tools among cryptoasset service providers, the financial industry in general, as well as across academic fields. At the moment, one can choose between commercial services or low-level open-source tools providing programmatic access. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of another option: the GraphSense Cryptoasset Analytics Platform, which can be used for interactive investigations of monetary flows and, more importantly, for executing advanced analytics tasks using a standard data science tool stack. By providing a growing set of open-source components, GraphSense could ultimately become an instrument for scientific investigations in academia and a possible response to emerging compliance and regulation challenges for businesses and organizations dealing with cryptoassets.


Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is an acute heart failure syndrome usually associated with rapid and spontaneous recovery of left ventricular (LV) function. However, approximately 10% of patients have persistent symptoms and seek further medical advice.

 To determine the cardiovascular haemodynamic and LV contractile response to exercise in these TTS survivors with ongoing symptoms.

 This was a case-control study of 20 symptomatic patients with previous TTS referred for treadmill exercise echocardiography (EE), and 20 age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched control subjects with normal treadmill EE. Among the TTS group, EE was performed at a median of 8 months (mean 17±21 months) following the index event. Demographic characteristics, resting and EE data were collected. LV ejection fraction (EF) was measured at rest and peak stress. Global longitudinal and circumferential strain (GLS, GCS) were measured at rest.

 All 20 TTS patients were Caucasian postmenopausal females (mean age 63.5±6.6 years). There were no significant differences in body mass index (BMI), resting heart rate (HR) and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors compared to controls. Resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were higher in TTS patients (144±17 mmHg versus 128±18 mmHg, and 81±10 mmHg versus 74±9 mmHg, respectively). A comparative analysis of the resting and stress echo data is given in Table 1. The stress echo data showed similar exercise time and peak HR, but higher peak SBP in TTS patients. TTS patients had blunted contractile response to exercise with lower peak LVEF, ΔLVEF (exercise minus resting EF) and peak wall motion score index (WMSI) compared to controls. Among the 20 TTS patients, 12 had exercise-induced wall motion abnormalities: 6 involved the apical segments and 6 developed global dysfunction. In these 12 patients, the mean ΔLVEF was reduced (4%). In the other 8 patients, the ΔLVEF was 16% and pooled the TTS cohort had blunted contractile response with exercise compared to controls (ΔLVEF 8% vs. 19% in the control group, p=0.001).
 Table 1

 Our study shows that symptomatic patients with previous TTS have a blunted contractile response to exercise manifest as reversible apical or global LV dysfunction. These findings might indicate the need for treatment. Further systematic investigation of the therapeutic and prognostic implications of this reversible exercise-induced myocardial dysfunction is needed.


Recently, IBM announced the first silicon integrated circuit technology that incorporates copper on-chip wiring. This technology, which combines industry-leading CMOS ULSI devices with 6 levels of hierarchically-scaled Cu metallization, has reached the point of manufacturing, after passing the qualification tests required to prove feasibility, yield, reliability, and manufacturability. The discussion of the change from Al to Cu interconnects for ULSI encompasses a wide variety of issues. This paper attempts to address these by way of example, from the broad range of detailed studies that have been performed in the course of developing these so-called 'copper chips'. Motivational issues are covered by comparative modeling of performance aspects and cost. The technology parameters and features are shown, as well as data relating to the process integration, electrical yield and parametric behavior, early manufacturing data, high-frequency modeling and measurements, noise and clock skew. The viability of this technology is indicated by results from reliability stressing, as well as the first successful demonstrations of fully functional SRAM, DRAM, and microprocessor chips with Cu wiring. The advantages of integrated Cu wiring may be applied even more broadly in the future. An example shown here is the achievement of very high-quality integrated inductors; these may help prospects for complete integration of RF and wireless communications chips onto silicon.


This work decribes the enhancement of the electrical figures of merit of an Electrolyte Gated Thin-Film Transistor (EG-TFT) comprising a nanocomposite of n-type tungsten disulfide (WS_2) nanotubes (NTs) dispersed in a regio-regular p-type poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) polymeric matrix. P3HT/WS_2 nanocomposites loaded with different concentrations of NTs, serving as EG-TFTs electronic channel materials have been studied and the formulation has been optimized. The resulting EG-TFTs figures of merit (field-effect mobility, threshold voltage and on-off ratio) are compared with those of the device comprising a bare P3HT semiconducting layer. The optimized P3HT/WS_2 nanocomposite, comprising a 60% by weight of NTs, results in an improvement of all the elicited figures of merit with a striking ten-fold increase in the field-effect mobility and the on/off ratio along with a sizable enhancement of the in-water operational stability of the device.


Article history: Received: June 2014 Received in the revised form: September 2014 Accepted: November 2014 The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the selected operating parameters of the two types of orchard sprayers on vertical distribution (expressed as spray percentage share in 50-cm segments) and quantitative changes in vertical distribution of spray measured on a vertical separator of drops. The study included measurements of vertical distribution of spray for two different settings of nozzles, two types of nozzles and two fan rotational speeds. Vertical distribution of spray depended significantly on the spray emission system, the configuration and the type of nozzles and in the slightest degree on the fan rotational speed. The smallest share of liquid fell on the edge segments (≤ 5.22%) and the largest on the middle ones – 29.33%. The change in the configuration of nozzles significantly affected the change in the spray vertical distribution (by the spray displacement between the 50-cm segments). The greatest changes in vertical distribution of spray – as affected by the nozzle configuration change – was observed for the sprayer with the horizontal spray emission with a maximum change in one segment of 14.0% (an average of 7 segments: 5.38%).


The conformational preferences of a 43-amino-acid G-actin-binding peptide, thymosin beta 4, in water at 1, 4 and 14 degrees C, and at pH 3.0 and 6.5 were studied by NMR. NMR showed that thymosin beta 4 lacks a uniquely folded conformation in water. However, some preferential alpha-helical conformations of thymosin beta 4 can be observed in aqueous solutions. The segment at residues 5-16 showed characteristic interactions for conformations in both the beta-strand and alpha-helical regions of the phi-psi space, based on strong C alpha H(i)-NH(i+1) interactions and NH-NH, C alpha H(i)-NH(i+3), and C alpha H(i)-C beta H(i+3) interactions, respectively. At 1-4 degrees C, another segment at residues 31-37 also shows both beta and alpha conformations, forming however a less well-defined helix than the segment at residues 5-16. At 14 degrees C, the conformational population of the helix at positions 5-16 is shifted more towards the random and turn-like structures, whereas the segment at positions 31-37 becomes exclusively a random coil.


Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) are known as stronger materials than steel. The process of cellulose nanocrystals production might be variant and complicated process, however, the end product of the cellulose nanocrystals offer new possibilities for endowing improvement in cementitious composites by improving the mechanical properties. This paper focus on the relationship between density and ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of the cement mortar after addition of CNC additive with the positive developments of compressive strength. The addition of CNC additives improve the formation of calcium-silicate-hydrate (CSH) gel in the cement matrix up to 0.2% of CNC concentration. Thus, this progressive formation of CSH gel in cement mortar seem to improve the strength of the cement composites up to 42-45% compared to conventional cement mortar.


The specification of anteroposterior (AP) axis is a fundamental and complex patterning process that sets up the embryonic polarity and shapes a multicellular organism. This process involves the integration of distinct signaling pathways to coordinate temporal–spatial gene expression and morphogenetic movements. In the frog Xenopus, extensive embryological and molecular studies have provided major advance in understanding the mechanism implicated in AP patterning. Following fertilization, cortical rotation leads to the transport of maternal determinants to the dorsal region and creates the primary dorsoventral (DV) asymmetry. The activation of maternal Wnt/ß‐catenin signaling and a high Nodal signal induces the formation of the Nieuwkoop center in the dorsal‐vegetal cells, which then triggers the formation of the Spemann organizer in the overlying dorsal marginal zone. It is now well established that the Spemann organizer plays a central role in building the vertebrate body axes because it provides patterning information for both DV and AP polarities. The antagonistic interactions between signals secreted in the Spemann organizer and the opposite ventral region pattern the mesoderm along the DV axis, and this DV information is translated into AP positional values during gastrulation. The formation of anterior neural tissue requires simultaneous inhibition of zygotic Wnt and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signals, while an endogenous gradient of Wnt, fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), retinoic acid (RA) signaling, and collinearly expressed Hox genes patterns the trunk and posterior regions. Collectively, DV asymmetry is mostly coupled to AP polarity, and cell–cell interactions mediated essentially by the same regulatory networks operate in DV and AP patterning. WIREs Dev Biol 2016, 5:150–168. doi: 10.1002/wdev.217


Genome duplications may have played a role in the early stages of vertebrate evolution, near the time of divergence of the lamprey lineage. Additional genome duplication, specifically in ray-finned fish, may have occurred before the divergence of the teleosts. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio) has been considered tetraploid because of its chromosome number (2n = 100) and its high DNA content. We studied variation using 59 microsatellite primer pairs to better understand the ploidy level of the common carp. Based on the number of PCR amplicons per individual, about 60% of these primer pairs are estimated to amplify duplicates. Segregation patterns in families suggested a partially duplicated genome structure and disomic inheritance. This could suggest that the common carp is tetraploid and that polyploidy occurred by hybridization (allotetraploidy). From sequences of microsatellite flanking regions, we estimated the difference per base between pairs of alleles and between pairs of paralogs. The distribution of differences between paralogs had two distinct modes suggesting one whole-genome duplication and a more recent wave of segmental duplications. The genome duplication was estimated to have occurred about 12 MYA, with the segmental duplications occurring between 2.3 and 6.8 MYA. At 12 MYA, this would be one of the most recent genome duplications among vertebrates. Phylogenetic analysis of several cyprinid species suggests an evolutionary model for this tetraploidization, with a role for polyploidization in speciation and diversification.


Twenty patients with headaches and concomitant mild depression (the Beck scale mean score 13,6), aged 20-62 years (mean 40,3), illness duration 0,5-40 years, (mean 17,7), attack frequency 3-30 days, (mean 13,4), have been studied. Coaxil was prescribed in dosage of 12,5 mg daily during 6 weeks. Neurological examination and clinical evaluation using a number of scales, along with patients self-rating, was conducted. Twenty one patients have completed the treatment course. Coaxil therapy resulted in significant decrease of frequency and severity of headache attacks and improvement of the patient's general state.


We present a framework for estimating 3D relative structure (shape) and motion given objects undergoing nonrigid deformation as observed from a fixed camera, under perspective projection. Deforming surfaces are approximated as piece-wise planar, and piece-wise rigid. Robust registration methods allow tracking of corresponding image patches from view to view and recovery of 3D shape despite occlusions, discontinuities, and varying illumination conditions. Many relatively small planar/rigid image patch trackers are scattered throughout the image; resulting estimates of structure and motion at each patch are combined over local neighborhoods via an oriented particle systems formulation. Preliminary experiments have been conducted on real image sequences of deforming objects and on synthetic sequences where ground truth is known.


The density and diameter of plasma obtained In the central solenoid of the fully axisymmetric ambipolar mirror trap AMBAL-M are sufficient enough for ioncyclotron heating using fast waves, which provides plasma heating at the axis. At present the experiment on such ICR heating of the solenoid plasma is under preparation. The heating will be carried out two semiloop antennas installed in the end of the solenoid. For protection from the impact of the edge plasma, the antennas are equipped with Faraday shields and graphite limiters with slanted slits.


Studies of dilatometry, DSC, hardness and XRD have shown that a low temperature cryogenic treatment immediately after supersaturation affects changes of structure and properties taking place during ageing after supersaturation. The third peak visible on DSC diagrams for samples conventially treated disappears on DSC diagrams for deep cryogenically treated samples, and the intensity of the two first peaks on DSC diagrams of deep cryogenically treated samples is a few times lower than on diagrams for conventionally treated samples. The dissolution process for precipitation of Al2Cu in conventionally treated samples progresses faster. Hardness of samples aged after a deep cryogenic treatment within the range of 175-220 oC for more than 60 minutes was higher than of those conventionally treated; at higher ageing temperatures (275-350 °C) the differences in hardness were smaller.


The study determined the postproduction handling systems, losses and the needed intervention to improve the fresh sweet potato chain. Surveys were conducted among 350 sweet potato farmers in four major sweet potato producing provinces supplemented by the key informant interviews, focus group discussion and on-line search of secondary data. Actual loss assessments were undertaken adapting the tracing method and following two commercial marketing channels replicated 6 times for each marketing channel. The total average postharvest loss was 32.09 percent. Among the postproduction operations, quantity losses during harvesting were the highest at 15.96 and 17.94 percent for Bataan and Tarlac, respectively. Along the fresh sweet potato market chain, the farmer contributes the highest percentage share (41.63%) to the retail price on a per kilogram basis of fresh sweet potato. The farmer gets the highest share of income but also shoulders the highest cost of producing the commodity. Addressing the major constraints in postharvest operations undertaken by the farmers will improve their financial conditions and the fresh sweet potato chain in general. A potential technology intervention to address observed problems in harvesting operation, which contributes 53 percent to the overall postharvest losses, is the introduction of tractor-mounted conveyor-type digger to reduce losses and labor cost. Initial technical and financial performance indicated that the machine can reduce harvesting loss and increase farmer's income by PhP23, 408 to PhP28, 936/ha. Reducing the harvesting loss can increase the quantity of fresh sweet potato available for sale by 2,076 to 2,316 kg/ha. Further, pilot testing of the technology should be done to evaluate its technical and financial viability as well as its social acceptability among sweet potato farmers. Information generated by this study can guide the policy makers to provide measures/policies for loss reduction and a more focused R&D to provide immediate and relevant solutions to more pressing constraints on postharvest operations of fresh sweet potato chain.


Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a heterogeneous group of rare neoplasms originating from the embryonic mesoderm and mesenchymal cells. Primary peritoneal sarcomas have been reported as leiomyosarcoma, liposarcoma and carcinosarcoma. However, primary peritoneal spindle cell sarcoma has never been reported in the literature. Herein, we report on a 38-year-old woman with massive ascites diagnosed as primary peritoneal spindle cell sarcoma. Following doxorubicin and ifosfamide chemotherapy, her symptoms improved and ascites regressed. Other primary peritoneal sarcomas rarely cause massive ascites. We suggest that in patients presenting with massive exudative ascites associated with malignancy, primary peritoneal sarcomas should be also considered in the differential diagnosis.


Modifying implant surfaces to improve their biocompatibility by enhancing osteoblast activation, growth, differentiation, and induction of greater bone formation with stronger attachments should result in improved outcomes for total joint replacement surgeries. This study tested the hypothesis that nano-structured surfaces, produced by the ion beam-assisted deposition method, enhance osteoblast adhesion, growth, differentiation, bone formation, and maturation. The ion beam-assisted deposition technique was employed to deposit zirconium oxide films on glass substrates. The effects of the ion beam-assisted deposition technique on cellular functions were investigated by comparing adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis of the human osteosarcoma cell line SAOS-2 on coated versus uncoated surfaces. Ion beam-assisted deposition nano-coatings enhanced initial cell adhesion assessed by the number of 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole–stained nuclei on zirconium oxide nano-coated surfaces compared to glass surfaces. This nano-modification also increased cell proliferation as measured by mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity. Moreover, the ion beam-assisted deposition technique improved cell differentiation as determined by the formation of mineralized bone nodules and by the rate of calcium deposition, both of which are in vitro indicators of the successful bone formation. However, programmed cell death assessed by Annexin V staining and flow cytometry was not statistically significantly different between nano-surfaces and glass surfaces. Overall, the results indicate that nano-crystalline zirconium oxide surfaces produced by the ion beam-assisted deposition technique are superior to uncoated surfaces in supporting bone cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Thus, surface properties altered by the ion beam-assisted deposition technique enhanced bone formation and may increase the biocompatibility of bone cell–associated surfaces.


Academics and policymakers have conducted a significant amount of research on the physical security and integrity of refugee populations, especially of refugee women and children. That on refugee women has focused on gender-based violence. This study expands on previous research by employing a human security approach to analyse not only the physical security and integrity of refugees, but also their socio-psychological well-being. Specifically, I argue that poor socio-psychological well-being actually explains the manifestations of violence against women in refugee camps. To make this argument, I document and explain the emasculation of Burundian refugee men living in Kanembwa camp in western Tanzania.


BACKGROUND
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a rapidly emerging disease that has been classified a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). To support WHO with their recommendations on quarantine, we conducted a rapid review on the effectiveness of quarantine during severe coronavirus outbreaks.

OBJECTIVES
We conducted a rapid review to assess the effects of quarantine (alone or in combination with other measures) of individuals who had contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19, who travelled from countries with a declared outbreak, or who live in regions with high transmission of the disease.

SEARCH METHODS
An information specialist searched PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE, WHO Global Index Medicus, Embase, and CINAHL on 12 February 2020 and updated the search on 12 March 2020. WHO provided records from daily searches in Chinese databases up to 16 March 2020.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Cohort studies, case-control-studies, case series, time series, interrupted time series, and mathematical modelling studies that assessed the effect of any type of quarantine to control COVID-19. We also included studies on SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) as indirect evidence for the current coronavirus outbreak.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently screened 30% of records; a single review author screened the remaining 70%. Two review authors screened all potentially relevant full-text publications independently. One review author extracted data and assessed evidence quality with GRADE and a second review author checked the assessment. We rated the certainty of evidence for the four primary outcomes: incidence, onward transmission, mortality, and resource use.

MAIN RESULTS
We included 29 studies; 10 modelling studies on COVID-19, four observational studies and 15 modelling studies on SARS and MERS. Because of the diverse methods of measurement and analysis across the outcomes of interest, we could not conduct a meta-analysis and conducted a narrative synthesis. Due to the type of evidence found for this review, GRADE rates the certainty of the evidence as low to very low. Modeling studies consistently reported a benefit of the simulated quarantine measures, for example, quarantine of people exposed to confirmed or suspected cases averted 44% to 81% incident cases and 31% to 63% of deaths compared to no measures based on different scenarios (incident cases: 4 modelling studies on COVID-19, SARS; mortality: 2 modelling studies on COVID-19, SARS, low-certainty evidence). Very low-certainty evidence suggests that the earlier quarantine measures are implemented, the greater the cost savings (2 modelling studies on SARS). Very low-certainty evidence indicated that the effect of quarantine of travellers from a country with a declared outbreak on reducing incidence and deaths was small (2 modelling studies on SARS). When the models combined quarantine with other prevention and control measures, including school closures, travel restrictions and social distancing, the models demonstrated a larger effect on the reduction of new cases, transmissions and deaths than individual measures alone (incident cases: 4 modelling studies on COVID-19; onward transmission: 2 modelling studies on COVID-19; mortality: 2 modelling studies on COVID-19; low-certainty evidence). Studies on SARS and MERS were consistent with findings from the studies on COVID-19.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Current evidence for COVID-19 is limited to modelling studies that make parameter assumptions based on the current, fragmented knowledge. Findings consistently indicate that quarantine is important in reducing incidence and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic. Early implementation of quarantine and combining quarantine with other public health measures is important to ensure effectiveness. In order to maintain the best possible balance of measures, decision makers must constantly monitor the outbreak situation and the impact of the measures implemented. Testing in representative samples in different settings could help assess the true prevalence of infection, and would reduce uncertainty of modelling assumptions. This review was commissioned by WHO and supported by Danube-University-Krems.


The ultrasonic velocity study of the heterocyclic compounds i.e. ultrasonic velocity, adiabatic compressibility, apparent molal volume, apparent molal compressibility have been determined for the synthesized pyrazolines at different concentrations in the dioxane-water mixture by using ultrasonic interferometer at 1 MHz frequency. The variations in acoustical properties with increasing in concentration of the heterocyclic compounds have been used to understand the changes in molecular interactions between solute and solvent to know the structure making and breaking property of solute molecules with increase in concentration of pyrazolines


Georges Van Slype said that a thesaurus is a structured list of concepts, destined to represent of univocal way the content of documents and the consultations within a determined documentary system, and to help to the user in the indizacion of documents and the consultations. This thesaurus goes directed, to the professionals of the documentation and, in general, to all those people interested in the world of comic, as professionals or fans. The objetive is establish the conceptual frame of the discipline through its associative and hierarchic relations, and spread, therefore, the normalization of concepts made.